Impeachment of a CJ: Day of lightning and year of thunder
January 11, 2013 is Black day in the history of the judiciary in Sri Lanka and perhaps the darkest day for democracy. On that day, Parliament accepted the report of the Parliamentary Select Committee that inquired into the charges set out in the impeachment motion against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake and impeached the Chief Justice. [...]
Ariel Sharon dead at 85
TEL AVIV, Jan 11, (AFP) – Former Israeli premier Ariel Sharon died in hospital near Tel Aviv today, aged85, after eight years in a coma, drawing tributes from Israeli leaders but contempt from Palestinians. “The Sheba Medical Centre in Tel HaShomer announces with sorrow the passing of former prime minister Ariel Sharon that was determined [...]
‘Daha Ata Sanniya’ comes alive at the Colombo Kamatha at BMICH
“It was a rare opportunity for people in the heart of Colombo,” said Director General of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike National Memorial Foundation, Bandhula Ekanayake as the ‘Daha Ata Sanniya’, a traditional masked dance ritual, was staged on Thursday, January 9 from 8.30 p.m. till 5.30 a.m. the following day, at the open air theatre, the ‘Colombo [...]
New facility to conduct the last rites of a janaza
Fulfilling a vital need of Muslims living in crowded urban areas, a new facility was opened recently at Maharagama to enable them to conduct the last rites of a janaza. The facility known as “khidmathul Janaaiz Building” was opened recently at the Ghafooriya Arabic College premises in the presence of a distinguished gathering, including Navaz [...]
Ratnapura District shows the way to eradicate child labour
“If a child during his vacation from school accompanies his father to a gem mine and by some chance sifts out a gemstone, the chances of him returning to school are very remote,” was the sad reality that Ratnapura District Secretary Sunil Kannangara highlighted during a meeting with the media last month. The Sri Lanka [...]
Fighting against all odds for what she believed in
Behind Asma Jahangir’s petite frame is a woman of steel. One of Pakistan’s leading human rights activists, Ms. Jahangir is an individual who has continually swept aside the challenges posed to her, marching forward with her fight for the causes she holds most dear- that of womens’ rights, education and the rights of minorities. A [...]
23rd AGM of ‘Saviya Development Foundation’, Galle
‘Saviya Develo-pment Foundation’ of Galle will hold its 23rd annual general meeting on Wednesday, January 15, from 9.30 a.m. onwards at Galle, Bata-ganvilla, Saviya head office premises. The meeting will be held under the guidance of the University of Ruhuna, Chancellor Most Ven. Aggamaha Panditha Pallath-thara Sumanajothi Thera. Officers of governmental and non governmental sectors [...]
When Sexting gets ugly: Flirting can become fodder for revenge porn
Sexting can be fun and games, until somebody posts your naked selfie on a website with no permission. We have a lot to thank our phones for: on-the-go Candy Crush access, spur of the moment selfies and, perhaps most crucially, sexting. Indeed, the advent of mobile crotch-shot sharing has been something of a double-edged sword [...]
Connected tech raises privacy fears
In the future, it might not just be your smartphone that leaks personal and private data, it might be your smart fridge too. So said experts gathered at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. They debated what happens to privacy and security as the “internet of things” begins to emerge. At CES this year, [...]
Horror in Harrow for Lankan accountant
A father arrived home to find his wife had killed their two young sons before apparently killing herself, police revealed yesterday. Accountant Sakthivel Vageswaran, 36, found the bodies of five-year-old Anopan and eight-month-old Nathiban in black bin bags when he returned from work. Wife Jeyavani was also dead. Mr. Sakthivel is said to be still [...]
US to withdraw diplomat as Devyani dispute deepens
WASHINGTON/New Delhi, Jan. 10 (Reuters) – The United States said today it would withdraw one of its diplomats from New Delhi at India’s request after Washington effectively expelled an Indian envoy at the center of a dispute between the allies. Devyani Khobragade, 39, who was India’s deputy consul-general in New York, was arrested in December [...]
Russia, Iran in oil-for-goods barter deal
LONDON/ANKARA, Jan 10 (Reuters) – Iran and Russia are negotiating an oil-for-goods swap worth $1.5 billion a month that would enable Iran to lift oil exports substantially, undermining Western sanctions that helped persuade Tehran in November to agree to a preliminary deal to curb its nuclear programme. Russian and Iranian sources close to the barter [...]
UNSC backs Iraq’s war against militants
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 11, (AFP) – The UN Security Council has given strong backing to an Iraqi government campaign to retake provincial strongholds from al-Qaeda-linked militants. The 15-nation council agreed to a statement backing Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki amid mounting concern over the battle for Anbar province, which runs from the western suburbs of Baghdad [...]
Thai protesters fired at: Violence on the rise
BANGKOK, Jan 11 (Reuters) – Seven people were wounded, one seriously, after gunmen opened fire on anti-government protesters in Bangkok early today, heightening fears of more violence when protesters try to “shutdown” the capital next week in their long-running bid to overthrow Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. “Two shootouts occurred early this morning at an intersection [...]
Polar Vortex turns Niagara Falls into a frozen wonderland
The record-breaking chill across the U.S. and Canada was so frigid it literally stopped Niagara Falls in its tracks. A collection of spectacular photographs have shown the moment the U.S. side of the famous falls froze before they could reach the bottom. Thankfully, the freezing air and ‘polar vortex’ that turned the cascading water to [...]
Kadugannawa postal bomb case: Murder most foul by a homosexual
That Love, in such abnormal and perverted cases, can turn into terrifying hate, was tragically and dramatically demonstrated in the sensational “Kadugannawa Postal Bomb Case. Some poets describe thwarted love as, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”, and others as, “Heaven knows no Hell like Love to Hatred turned”. This was an unusual [...]
Survey says: Muslim women, cover your hair, not your faces
An important issue in the Muslim world is how women should dress in public. A recent survey from the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research conducted in seven Muslim-majority countries (Tunisia, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey), finds that most people prefer that a woman completely cover her hair, but not necessarily [...]
Diplomats behaving badly
NEW YORK – Diplomats, normally discreet figures who rarely court publicity, have been in the news a lot lately, for all the wrong reasons. Two recent arrests of diplomats by their host countries have put a spotlight on the justification for, and limits of, the immunity from local law that such officials typically enjoy. In [...]
